Mistaken Identity
by emeraldwolf
Summary: A response to Uzumakisama's contest. It is a LeonCloud pairing fic that is an AU version of her fic Stygian Solace. A different take on how Cloud and Leon meet for the first time in Kingdom Hearts. oneshot


Emeraldwolf

Mistaken Identity

Rating: PG-13 (lime but no lemon)

Challenge: L/C pairing

Word Count: 6472

Summary: An alternate version of how Leon and Cloud first meet in Stygian Solace. A dark night brings Leon to an alleyway where he encounters a strange figure who calls himself Vincent. But oftentimes first impressions can be wrong.

_Italics=Thoughts_

Squall Leonhart walked down the streets of Traverse Town, moping as usual. They had found the keyblade master, and he had turned out to be merely a boy. A boy who seemed to have enough troubles keeping his boyfriend in check. How was he to help them defeat the heartless?

The people of Traverse Town had become scarce ever since the first heartless appeared. Most stayed in their houses unless it was absolutely necessary to leave. And when that happened, it was always during the day. The heartless seemed to become more restless and daring at night.

Leon, as he had come to be known in this town, let his hand stray to the hilt of his gunblade. It comforted him, especially when he saw tiny flashes of gold in the shadows around him. But they rarely dared to come near him, for they had felt the sting of his blade before on the many heartless hunts he had gone on.

Despite the neon lights of the second district, the town seemed to suddenly become darker. Leon looked around and found that the stars were one by one being blinked out in the sky. A thick black could was rolling in, and he could hear far off thunder drawing closer.

Wonderful. Leon rubbed his eyes and looked around at the part of town he had wandered to. It was a good twenty minutes back to his hotel room, and the storm was ready to break at any minute. He caught sight of an alleyway that was small, and mostly covered by the roves of the two buildings it was nestled between.

The first droplets of rain fell and hit Leon right on his head as he cautiously made his way to the alley. Heartless loved to hide in shadowy places, and he drew out his gunblade for good measure.

The rain was beginning to come down in sheets and Leon didn't have time to inspect the alley. He darted into it's semi-cover and held his blade in front of him. His eyes hadn't adjusted to the dimness and lack of starlight yet, but when a flash of lightning flickered through the night, he saw that he was not alone in the shelter of the alley.

A man sat in the alleyway, leaning against one wall and his toes pressed against the other wall. He had a long red cape wrapped around his body, and a piece of it pulled over his head. His face was obscured, but judging by his strange armor and cape, Leon didn't know this man.

"Planning to use that any time soon?" The man questioned in a silky, young voice. Leon had expected from the appearance of his clothes for this to be an older man, a warrior perhaps.

Taking the hint, Leon sheathed his gunblade, for he didn't feel this man to be a threat.

"How long have you been in Traverse Town?" He asked gruffly. The rain was pouring again, and now the wind was beginning to blow it into the alleyway. He took a few steps closer to the man, just enough to keep himself dry.

"I just arrived this morning."

For some reason the man seemed distracted by something. He kept shifting in the way he sat. Pulling himself away from the wall, then leaning back against it again.

"I don't think you're going to be able to make yourself comfortable here." Leon said. He crossed his arms and leaned with his back against the opposite wall that the man was sitting on.

Another bolt of lightning streaked through the sky and Leon saw something reflect the light next to the man. Again, the usually stoic and quiet man voiced his thoughts to this stranger.

"What's that next to you?"

"My sword." The figure looked up towards Leon, but the red cape continued to dangle over his face, it and the shadows making his face vague and concealed.

"Where did you say you came from?" Leon asked this of the man, but kept his eyes trained on the enormous sword next to him. It seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps he had been in the armory that the man bought it from.

"I didn't say where I came from. And I'd prefer not to."

Leon was a bit taken aback by the stranger's coldness, but would never let it show. He was usual the one giving out the cold shoulders, and not used to receiving one.

Thunder crashed in the sky and caused the man on the floor to flinch from the sound. It seemed to echo around the buildings of Traverse Town. For some reason, he hated the sound of the thunder.

The two stood, and sat, in a slightly uncomfortable silence as the storm vented its fury on them. After half an hour, the lightning had become occasional, and the thunder was a soft growl in the distance.

Leon was tiring of sitting in this dank alley with a person whose anti-social personality rivaled his own. The cloaked man seemed to be unperturbed by everything, except the obvious discomfort of sitting in a cramped alleyway against a hard wall.

"Looks like the storm is nearly over. You should go home now." Leon stretched his arms over his head while the figure next to him looked up at him. He waited for the man to stand up, but he merely sat there, looking up at Leon from under his makeshift hood.

"Well..." Leon let his sentence hang in the air.

"And where would you suggest I go? I told you, I just got here this morning." His tacit response quickly quieted Leon.

"So are you planning on staying in this alley all night long?"

"Why do you care?" The figure snapped. He too stood up and seemed to be equally cramped as Leon.

"I help out the people of this city. These alleys aren't safe, and they'll become less so as it gets later."

The man didn't respond, but turned and picked up his enormous blade, putting it against his back where it seemed to stick. Leon assumed by the metallic clang as he did this that this man used some sort of magnet, or magic, to hold his oversized weapon in place.

"So..." The man began. When he paused, Leon assumed it was because he had never introduced himself.

"Leon."

"What?" He cocked his shadowed head to the side.

"My name is Leon. You never did tell me yours." Leon tried to be patient with the man that had thus far been less than helpful.

"My name?"

If he hadn't known better, Leon would have thought this man was somehow insulted. Obviously in whatever world he had come from asking someone's name wasn't as simple as it was in Traverse Town.

With an edge of bitterness, the man responded as he strode out of the alleyway and past Leon.

"You can call me Vincent. Leon." He stressed the name back at the man, almost spitefully.

By now Leon was thoroughly confused by this man. He was strangely drawn to him as well. It must have been because Vincent was very obviously a fellow warrior. Against his better judgment, Leon walked quickly out of the alley and followed Vincent.

"Where are you planning to go?"

Vincent stopped abruptly and turned around to look at Leon. A part of his cloak began to slip off his head and Leon could see a sliver more of his face. He appeared to be young. Even younger than himself. Before he could see anything more Vincent adjusted his cloak to once again cover most of his face.

"I'm not planning to go anywhere. I came here to look for someone, and I'm going to wherever they might be." His words were terse and quick, giving Leon the feeling that he wanted to be left alone.

"Even so, you shouldn't be roaming around alone here."

"Why not? You were." Vincent folded his arms and smirked at Leon's glare. The man hated to be proven wrong.

"I know what's here. What kind of Heartless hunt the city's people at night. I'm here to protect them." Leon was slowly growing more and more angry. Vincent was frustrating him by being stubborn when all Leon wanted was to help him.

Vincent sighed and rubbed the eyes he kept hidden.

"Fine," the word was growled more so than spoken. "Where do you suggest I go?"

Leon thought for a moment, partly because he had to think about where in Traverse Town a heavily armed mysterious man would be welcomed, and partly to further piss off Vincent.

"My hotel isn't far from here. A few streets over. We should head there."

Vincent tensed up, and took half a step back. Leon couldn't figure out why he would have such a strange reaction, but completely ignored it. He didn't realize that it sounded to Vincent that Leon was inviting him to his own hotel room, and not a nearby room.

"Alright," Vincent said after a moment. His voice had softened, and he began to wonder if maybe Leon wasn't as clueless as he was acting.

The two odd looking companions headed down the streets of Traverse Town together, Leon leading the way. Vincent wasn't used to being in a place with so many buildings and bright lights and had a habit of looking at everything as they walked past.

For this reason he had no idea what was going on when Leon turned and yelled at him to look out. Looking down he saw a small Shadow run past. The Heartless seemed terrified, and was alone, which was rare for its breed.

"Come back here!"

As Vincent was brought back to his senses he stepped out of the way of the creature, and the fireball that flew past it. The Heartless was sent into a panic by having one of its antennae nearly burnt off and flung itself off a wall.

Two teenagers came quickly running down the street, followed by another who was taking his time. The one in the lead had brown hair that stuck up in spikes and was the one who had cast the ill-aimed fire spell. Behind him was a boy with longer, silver hair and bright green eyes.

Vincent sucked in a calming breath as he saw the silver haired boy approach. It was as if he was looking at his past....the boy resembled him so very much. But he was different in many ways as well. For starters, in his hand was a keyblade, very different from the other silver haired man's weapon of choice.

"Watch out Sora. That fire spell could have hurt somebody."

Sora pouted and stuck his tongue out at Riku as he ran by the two confused men. Riku was more aware and stopped to say hello to Leon. His eyes turned to Vincent, took in his strange appearance, before asking who he was.

"Vincent. He just came into town. I'm taking him to the hotel to see if there's a room for him."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Riku." Riku held out his hand, but then noticed the gold claws on Vincent's hand and quickly decided to avoid a handshake. Sora turned around and came back to introduce himself as well.

"That was a powerful fire spell Sora. And, though it's sad to say, also one of your better aimed spells." A silky voice came from behind the group and Vincent took a good long look at the newest arrival. He had been following the others at his own pace, never rushing, never looking rushed.

Vincent felt like he might have ended up in some strange parallel dimension instead of just a nearby world. There were two teenage boys, who were each a near spitting image of the last two people he had memories of. The new boy, Yami as the other's introduced him, even had the piercing glare that Vincent remembered. Those gold eyes, shadowed beneath white bangs.

"Sorry we can't stay and talk, but we've been chasing Shadows all night. I think they're up to something. I can feel that there has to be a lot of them up ahead in the Third District." Riku pointed to the wall that the injured Shadow had flung itself over a few minutes ago.

Leon turned to Vincent. "Do you mind if we help them, as a slight detour?"

Vincent was strongly inclined to leave. He had never needed help from people before, but for some reason decided to help on this one occasion.

"CHARGE!" Sora bellowed before running full tilt down the steps into the Third District. With a heavy sigh and a breathy chuckle, Riku and Yami followed. Leon unsheathed his gunblade, and Vincent heaved his heavy sword off his back and brandished it in front of him.

With a nod towards the wall, and a small smile from his odd companion, Leon ran forward and jumped off the wall, knowing full well that the ground wasn't too far down. Vincent had to trust the other man's judgment, and followed as well.

The first thing that both of them realized was that there were far too many enemies beneath them. As each man landed, the swung their swords left and right, knee-deep in Heartless. The power of the two swords was enough to cut through most of the weak Shadows, and the three boys used their magic and Riku's keyblade to eliminate any stragglers.

When only a few remained, Riku stepped forward and used a combo attack to finish them off. Vincent was impressed by the boy's fighting skills, although he didn't show it.

"See," Sora panted, "that wasn't too bad."

All five men jumped as the ground beneath them shook. It quickly stopped and they looked to each other for an explanation but found none.

"Is that normal here?" Vincent turned and questioned Leon. His voice carried a note of worry that he hadn't allowed there since meeting Leon.

"Not that I know of." He replied tersely, gripping his hilt and holding the gunblade tightly in front of him. The ground shook again and this time it was enough to knock Sora off his feet and force Riku and Yami to their knees.

Vincent and Leon swayed on their feet but managed to keep their balance. More tremors shook the ground and they began coming more quickly. The three boys managed to regain their feet, but stumbled every time the ground shuddered.

Leon looked over to Vincent, who's cape was again slipping off his head. This time he saw a bit of blond hair hanging down over his face, but was again denied. Vincent seemed to glare from under his red cape at Leon, who looked away guiltily.

"Uh...what's that?" Sora asked, as his wide blue eyes grew impossibly huge and his jaw dropped open.

An enormous Heartless was barreling down the street at them, its every footsteps sending a shudder through the ground. It was as big as most of the buildings in Traverse Town and wore the Heartless insignia on its chest. It was dark purple and black, and its four limbs and head floated separately from its body. As it stopped in front of them, it spun its head around, before each body part separated and attacked the boys.

Yami calmly stepped to the side and blasted the torso of the heartless as it rushed at him. It was thrown off-course by the powerful fire spell but spun around to initiate a second pass at the boy. Sora was doing equally well against the foot that was running slowly after him, shaking the ground as it did.

Leon slashed at the head of the creature as it whizzed by, but had to quickly recover to block an attack from one of the fists. He couldn't ask for help from any of the other's, who each had their hands full with their own fight. Pushing the gunblade against the fist, holding it in place in front of him, Leon didn't see that the head had made a circle around him and was plowing through the air straight towards him.

"Look out Squall!"

Leon turned in time to see the danger and opportunity heading his way. He dodged and tricked the head of the heartless into slamming into its own fist, and effectively destroying them both.

_He said my name._  
  
Leon wanted to ask Vincent right then and there how he knew his name, but decided to help Riku and the others in finishing off the weakened pieces of the heartless armor first.

"Hey Leon," Riku began, looking around the Third District, "where'd your friend go?"

Leon swore under his breath. He had a feeling that whoever this Vincent was, he was hiding something. After saying rushed farewells to the others he walked quickly up the stairs that led out of the Third District.

_He's new here. He can't have gone far._

Leon took his time and looked into the shadows of each alleyway, and behind every stack of boxes. Each time he heard a noise he would investigate, only to find it to be a cat, or something as trivial. When he was almost ready to give up his eyes caught movement ahead of him, something walking hurriedly down the street.

The rain still slippery on the ground, Leon hurried after the figure, almost falling as he rounded a corner. Vincent was definitely ahead of him, his blood red cape swirling around his body since he had just stopped rushing forward. By the quick turning of his head, Leon realized he was probably lost.

"Who are you really?" Leon asked as he came up behind the mysterious newcomer.

"I told you I'm—"

Leon grabbed Vincent by the cape and pulled him into the abandoned small apartment nearby. Vincent flailed around, obviously unhappy with being dragged anywhere and by anyone, and quickly freed himself from Leon's grasp.

The small apartment was just as its name said, and was only dimly lit by a flickering light overhead that remained from the previous owners. Leon stood in front of the door, with his characteristic cold expression and arms crossed over his chest. Vincent was in the middle of the room, his leg braced against the table he had ended up running up against after being released.

"You knew my name. No one here knows me by that name," Leon growled softly. He kept his cool gray eyes trained on the hooded figure in front of him, waiting for his well deserved explanation.

Vincent was quiet for a long while. But in a contest of wills or of silence, he was no contest against Leon. He broke it with a very soft chuckle, and leaned casually against the table he had been so tense against moments earlier.

"You still don't know who I am, do you Squall Leonhart?"

Vincent's voice had changed. Now it had lost the defensive edge it had earlier and was full of sarcasm and joking. Leon didn't like it.

"No. I've never known anyone by the name of Vincent."

Leon's eyes went to the huge sword that Vincent had dragged inside the apartment with them. It was what had originally caused Leon to be so intrigued by this man. The huge blade was so familiar, and yet completely lost to Leon's mind. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't name or place it.

"Oh I get it now," Vincent turned his head and followed Leon's gaze, "you recognize the buster sword but you don't recognize me."

_Buster..._

Before Leon's mind could grasp what was happening Vincent pulled off the dark red piece of his cape that had been hiding his face all night and revealed rain soaked golden hair and fierce blue eyes.

_Cloud?!?_

Leon opened his mouth a few times but couldn't make any words come out of it. He was alive.

_He's alive._

Cloud smirked and waved his clawed hand in front of Leon's face, trying to break him out of his trance.

"Hey Squall. You okay?"

Now the smooth voice was registering to Leon. It was older and deeper than it had been last time he heard it, and that was why he hadn't been able to place it. Dead voices don't often age well to one's ears.

"Cloud..."

Cloud smiled. At least he hadn't accidentally sent his old crush into some sort of coma.

"Yes. Glad to see we're on the same page now."

_He's alive._

Cloud was starting to blush and feel embarrassed at the way Leon was staring at him. And the fact that he wanted to jump on him and kiss him right there and then was not helping at all. Leon had grown nicely since Cloud had last seen him. And he especially liked the long hair.

"What about the others. Did anyone else survive?"

Cloud didn't like the topic the conversation was heading towards, and made his answers brief.

"All I know is that Sephiroth survived too. Did those with you make it?"

"Yes," Leon was still zoning out on Cloud. This boy who had tailed him like a lost puppy when they were kids had grown into a warrior, and a man all in the years they had been apart.

Cloud nodded, waiting for the rest of the answer. The air had cooled after the storm and as the night went on, and he shivered in his dripping cape.

This odd movement seemed to snap Leon out of his trance.

"Aeris, Yuffie, and Cid made it with me here. Are you okay?" In his monotony Leon had managed the answer and the question to seem almost as one sentence.

"Nah, I'm fine. I was just sitting out in the rain without the advantage of a leather coat."

Cloud punctuated his answer with another involuntary shiver. In an odd moment Leon felt responsible. As if it was his fault he hadn't found Cloud sooner. Years sooner. And saved him from ending up in an alley during a storm, soaked to the bone.

Leon crossed the feet between them and put his hands on each of Cloud's arms, rubbing them up and down, in order to try and warm him up. Cloud meanwhile turned his head quickly down and away, to cover up the blush that was burning its way across his face.

He suddenly felt much better. Just having someone touch him. Someone he trusted. Someone he cared about...

"Feel better Cloud?"

"Mmhmm."

Leon could still feel a chill on the younger man's skin, and was worried about his health. But at least he had quickly grown accustomed to him again. After using a fake name and keeping himself a secret, Leon feared that Cloud had some sort of hatred for him. Especially considering their history.

"Cloud, I'm sorry for what Sephiroth and I did to you as a kid."

Cloud's eyes snapped open from their half-lidded state and he looked up into Leon's face. His blue eyes had terror and shame in them, and his breathing had quickened.

_How could he know about that? No, he must be talking about something else_.

The look on Cloud's face was not lost on Leon. He had had some suspicions about the way Sephiroth treated Cloud when they were younger. And there were plenty of times that Leon had caught them alone somewhere, and it always looked as if Cloud was being hunted down by the older boy.

"The practical jokes and all. I never really thought about what it was like for you. I just followed his lead," Leon muttered half-heartedly as he stared at Cloud's calming face. Whatever had happened to Cloud, whether it was something Leon knew of or not, had obviously hurt him deeply.

"I-I always just assumed you hated me, and that's why you did those things. After Yuffie and Aeris..." Cloud realized right after the words left his mouth how embarrassing this was. Leon's hands were still warming his arms and here he was bringing up his stupid schoolboy crush. To his crush.

"I never hated you Cloud."

Cloud couldn't believe how soft a man like Leon could make his voice, if he wanted to. It rumbled softly, like the passing thunder.

_Oh God. I'm falling for him again._

Cloud remembered when he was a kid. How he was always too shy and too passive to ever do anything. Ever try anything. But now when he looked into Leon's eyes, he was on the same level as him. He had grown a lot since then. And learned even more.

He didn't care what happened afterwards. This wasn't his home world. If he needed to, there were other places he could go. To get away from him.

Barely moving away from the warm hands that were still trying to revive his cold skin, Cloud leaned forward and brought his mouth to Leon's. He felt all the movement in the other man's body stop, but he refused to be shot down so easily. He would not let himself be used by anyone again. Or controlled by them. Even if they didn't know they had the control.

When Cloud pulled away he didn't apologize. And when Leon met his eyes all he saw was fury. A challenge in shades of blue.

"Uh..." Leon, as usual, was having issues expressing verbally what was racing in his head. Cloud just kept staring at him, waiting for an answer, whether it be good or bad.

"Listen Cloud. I—"

He just couldn't seem to get the words out. His nervous habit reared its ugly head and Leon began to run his hands through his long hair. It wasn't that he didn't like Cloud. He had always had a soft spot for a pity case like him. But something in him was holding him back, refusing him the simple pleasure of enjoying Cloud's company. Fear. Guilt. Anxiety.

"I've had some bad relationships since we left Hollow Bastion. I don't think I can..." Leon grew silent again, unsure of how to continue. His stormy gray eyes turned to stare at the ground, readying himself for some sort of reaction from Cloud.

_Please. Don't let him cry._

"Whoever said anything about a relationship?"

Leon's eyes opened wide as Cloud kissed him again. This time he pressed his whole body against him, and Leon began to kiss him back. His body was chilled, but warming up from their shared heat. Leon felt Cloud's soft tongue, a contrast to his chapped lips, run along his own lips.

Leon's fears hadn't left him, but by this point he didn't care. He opened his mouth and turned his head, twisting his tongue against Cloud's. They may have been the same height, but he still held the advantage in strength and pushed Cloud against the table.

With Leon arching over him, still kissing him and biting at his lip, Cloud quickly pulled the claw off of his left arm and dropped it to the ground. His hands found their way to Leon's tucked in shirt and yanked at it, pulling it out of his too tight pants.

Leon hissed as Cloud's cold fingers brushed against his lower stomach. Cloud just grinned up at him before running his cold hands along Leon's abs. The older man was just as willing to reciprocate the offer and began to untie Cloud's cape.

"You wear far too much clothing," Leon growled huskily as he began to take off the armor that Cloud had on his hip and shoulder.

"You're one to talk. I don't think you need this many belts to keep your pants up."

Cloud was intent on undoing every single one of the belts hanging on Leon's waist. But he gave up when Leon began kissing him again, thrusting his tongue suggestively into his mouth. With his waist pinned down by Leon, Cloud couldn't get to either his stomach or the belts, so instead began to run his hands through Leon's soft damp hair.

_This is so strange._ Leon thought as he pulled Cloud's shirt from his pants. _At Hollow Bastion all I wanted was for Cloud to leave me alone. And now..._

Leon began pulling Cloud's shirt up as he pushed his hands along his chest, but stopped when Cloud suddenly shoved him away.

"What? What's wrong?" Leon was noticeably flustered. Swallowing the lump in his throat that had formed from the moment Cloud had touched him.

"I have to go," Cloud quickly gathered his armor, cape, and sword and left the house.

"Cloud wait!" Leon yelled angrily and ran after him, self-consciously smoothing his hair and tucking his shirt back in as he followed Cloud, who was doing the same.

Cloud quickly turned into a street, smaller than the main one they had been rushing down. The windows were all dark, and no one was within sight of them. Cloud leaned against his right shoulder on the brick wall as he returned his gold claw to its usual place. Leon watched, waiting for some sort of explanation. Anything. Even a hint to go on.

"Am I going to have to leave this world to keep you from following me?" Cloud asked in a quiet voice that was strained with effort to keep it controlled.

"That depends. Are you going to tell me what just happened?" Leon folded his arms and stared Cloud down. He'd had many people tell him that he should loosen up and give up his cold exterior, but he knew that sometimes it was all he had to rely on.

"It was a mistake all right. We both know I used to like you, but that was ages ago," Cloud snorted and began to look around the city, as if searching for a way out. "You wouldn't be interested anyway."

"What do you mean not interested? I thought I was making myself damn clear that I was interested," Leon raised his voice and stood closer to Cloud, pinning him against the wall by his mere presence.

Cloud sighed again and pushed Squall out of the way, trying to leave without having the faintest clue of where to run to. He wasn't able to get far though, as Squall grabbed his shoulder roughly and turned him back around to face him.

"There's something you're not telling me Cloud. Why the sudden change?"

A door suddenly opened down the way from them and both men were jolted from the conversation. Together they darted to a nearby door hidden a few feet within the wall by an enclave. Cloud was pressed uncomfortably against the door, with Leon pressing his back against him. Leon could feel Cloud's breath shifting his hair and leaned forward a bit.

The light that poured out into the darkened street soon retreated along with the grumbles of the angered townsperson. When he was sure that they were alone again, Leon turned around and gently placed his hands on the door, on either side of Cloud's head. He leaned forward and stared very intently into the blue eyes of the man who had grown out of the boy he once knew.

"Tell me."

Cloud shuddered involuntarily at the sound of Leon's voice. And the fact that he was so close to him. His whole body. It seemed to rumble with those soft spoken words. Cloud bit his lip and looked away from the face inches from his.

_Can I even trust Leon?_ Some part of Cloud's mind was trying to go against everything else that his body was screaming. _I trusted Squall_.

"Fine. But not here. Somewhere," Cloud had caught Squall's fierce eyes again and had to swallow before continuing, "private."

Squall nodded and headed for his hotel room, Cloud silent in tow. He kept his eyes on their shadows, ensuring the Cloud didn't try to escape without giving him his well due explanation. When they arrived at Squall's hotel room he unlocked and opened the door, allowing Cloud to enter first.

"Do...do you have a towel or something first?" Cloud said quietly. As if to make a point he then raised his arms and showed that he was still dripping rainwater off of his whole body.

"Sure," Squall said before turning away.

As he went into the bathroom and gathered towels to offer Cloud, the blond began to take off his armor, most of which was only haphazardly tied on again anyway. He piled his armor and claw on the floor and tossed his cape down onto it. His pants and belts could wait until later. And after all, he would prefer not to sit around naked while he explained his predicament to Squall.

Squall wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. Here he had a man in his apartment, who for all intents and purposes seemed to have multiple personality disorder, and now was most likely undressing in his living room. The man sighed and grabbed a few towels, for he too was still dripping all over the apartment, and headed back to the living room. As he walked in he was trying to take deep breaths and calm himself down, but his breathing stopped altogether when his eyes fell on Cloud.

The blond stood shirtless, his extra clothes and accessories piled next to his feet, and a black devil wing spread slightly to the side. Droplets of rain water ran down the curves of his wing, reaching the pointed tips and dripping to the carpet.

Cloud made a point of staring Squall down. The man was usually too intimidating for this tactic to work, but for a moment his guard was down and Cloud stood strong.

"Wha..." Squall trailed off. His confused and suspicious gray eyes flickering from Cloud's hard stare to the wing he flexed occasionally. Every time he moved the muscles in it, water was shaken off again.

"Maybe it would be better if I just left," Cloud's hopes had been dashed yet again and he bent down to gather up his stuff and take leave of his childhood friend.

For once Squall found himself not saying anything, not out of choice, but instead because he was speechless. He had figured Cloud's secret to be something far less severe. Like already having another lover. Or being married. Something minor like that. This was definitely unexpected. He just couldn't seem to keep his eyes from the gossamer black wing that arched out as Cloud stood and began to storm his way out of the room.

"Wait!" Squall's voice apparently decided to return at the last moment possible. To his surprise, Cloud actually stopped next to him, the wing nearly touching his face it was so close.

"Why...are you going to ask me stupid questions? Or run and get your torches and pitchforks?"

Squall reached out and placed his hand on Cloud's left shoulder, turning him slowly to face him. Cloud kept his face towards the door, as if it held his last chance of escape. But Squall was not to be so easily disheartened and took Cloud's chin in his and brought their eyes to the same level. For the first time the warrior eyes he had seen hours before were soft and vulnerable. Cloud was scared, and Squall was sure that it wasn't merely the cold rain that caused him to shudder as his eyes looked away.

"What made you think I was going to let you go?" Squall pulled Cloud closer to him, carefully avoiding touching the wing for fear that it was cause the blond to retreat further from him.

"Look Squall," Cloud faltered as he realized he had started calling the man by his old name again, "Leon, I've wasted enough time here with you. I need to be going."

Cloud attempted to get away from Squall's tight hold, and struggled halfheartedly at it, but the older man still had the edge when it came to brute strength. Squall realized that he couldn't let Cloud go. He needed to know where he had been. What he had been through.

Then Squall realized his mistake. He had begun to care for Cloud. Even in the short time since he found he was alive, his feelings had begun to grow for him. Gently dragging one hand from Cloud's waist to his neck, Squall brought them closer together. Then he leaned in and kissed the blonde's thin cupid's bow lips.

"Leon...." Cloud was interrupted as their lips crashed together again, more impassioned then before, and Squall gently slipped his tongue against his own.

Pushing against his chest, Cloud finally managed to get away from Squall's mouth long enough to speak.

"Squall I can't do this...I have to go and...hey!" Squall had obviously not been paying attention to what Cloud was saying and hoisted him up by the hips till he was straddling the older man's waist.

One of Squall's hands traveled slowly down to Cloud's butt and pulled against it, causing the blonde to grind against him. In order to hold on and not fall backwards, Cloud has his hands fisted in Squall's white shirt, and out of instinct, had latched the hook of his wing around his neck.

Cloud quickly pulled his wing away from Squall, but the movement did not go by unnoticed on the part of the older man.

"Why are you so worried?" Still holding on to Cloud's waist with one arm, Squall ran his hand up to the point where Cloud's soft skin melded to the leather of his wing. The younger man in his arms shuddered, and his blue eyes drifted upwards, his mouth hanging open at the sensation. Squall continued and gently maneuvered the hook shaped tip of Cloud's wing towards him.

"This is part of you. Or at least it is for now. It shouldn't hold the rest of you back..." Squall placed a soft kiss to the tip of the wing and Cloud gave up his last threads of control, leaning in and kissing the man fiercely, wrapping arm and leg and wing around him.

In the cold night air their breath came in short gasps of silver mist between them. Grunts and names and hushed words breathed against sweat slicked skin. Backs and wings arched as fingers clutched and nails dug into warm flesh.

Squall turned his head to the side on his pillow and looked into Cloud's bright sapphire eyes. He was laying facedown on the pillow next to him, his wing draped over Squall's chest. Cloud reached out and smoothed away a strand of brown hair that had fallen over Squall's face.

"No relationships?" Squall asked in a strained voice.

"Of course not." Cloud answered. But the statement sounded more like a question of himself. He propped himself up on his hands and leaned over, kissing the man beneath him before curling up beside him.

The End.


End file.
